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PRESIDENT
Democratic National Committee Begins Presidential Nomination Vote
On Friday, the Democratic National Committee, in advance of convening their national convention in Chicago on August 19, began their official virtual roll call to nominate Kamala Harris to replace President Biden as the party's national nominee. The DNC party chair said Friday afternoon that Harris has won enough delegates to secure the official party standard bearer early.
HOUSE
FL-2: Dems Choose New Nominee
After long shot Democratic congressional candidate Meghann Hovey dropped her bid to challenge Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Panama City), the local Democratic committees agreed to put forward the name of attorney Yen Bailey as the party's replacement candidate. The Florida primary is not until August 20, but because Hovey notified the election authorities of her decision to leave the race when she did, the local party apparatus had a chance to add another name to the primary ballot.
North Florida's 2nd District is safely Republican. The FiveThirtyEight data organization rates the seat as R+16. Former President Trump carried the seat four years ago with a whopping 67-32% victory margin. In 2022, Rep. Dunn defeated fellow Congressman Al Lawson (D) by a 60-40% margin after the two members were placed in the same district post-redistricting. The 2nd District contains all or part of 16 counties stretching from Panama City through the Apalachicola, Tallahassee, and Perry communities within the Florida panhandle. Representative Dunn is a sure bet for re-election in November.
STATES
Tennessee: Primary Results
Volunteer State voters went to the polls yesterday in their unique Thursday primary and performed as expected. Senator Marsha Blackburn scored a 90% victory over her minor Republican opponent and swept all 95 of the state's counties. Four Democrats were vying for their party nomination, and state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Nashville) easily won the primary contest with 70% of the partisan vote.
Representative Johnson is one of the House members who participated in a state capitol rally for gun control that resulted in two other members being expelled from the legislature. Heading into the November election, Sen. Blackburn is a prohibitive favorite for re-election.
The most competitive race on the ballot came in the Nashville-anchored 5th Congressional District where Davidson County Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston (R) challenged freshman US Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Columbia), but fell considerably short of victory. Slightly outspent and having roughly half the outside financial support (approximately $350,000 to $700,000), Ogles was still able to prevail with a 56-44% vote spread.
Representative Ogles recorded big margins in the outlying rural counties, and held his own in Davidson, which contains the city of Nashville. Clearly, the charges levied against him of falsifying his background and not paying property taxes when he was a local government official had little bearing on the race. In a 5th District that the FiveThirtyEight data organization rates as R+15, Rep. Ogles now becomes a prohibitive favorite against Democratic economic development consultant Maryam Abolfazli.
In other congressional races, both Reps. Scott DesJarlais (R-Sherwood) and Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) broke the 70% figure to record easy wins over minor opponents.
GOVERNOR
New Hampshire: Ayotte, Craig Lead R and D Primary Voting
Emerson College tested the New Hampshire electorate in anticipation of the state's late September 10 primary election. The poll results found former US Senator Kelly Ayotte leading ex-state Senate President Chuck Morse, 41-26%, for the open Republican gubernatorial nomination.
On the Democratic side, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig has a 33-21% advantage over Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington. The two primary winners will square off in November to succeed retiring Gov. Chris Sununu (R).
Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.
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